Navy Bird

Wish I had thought of that - the sidewalls are glued in place now and it would be difficult to remove the bits in order to make room for the PE boxes which, by the way, folded up quite nicely. Eduard did a nice job there. Thanks Giorgio. There will be some more filler work to fill the seam between the intakes and the wing proper, but that will be a lot easier once the wings are together. Thanks Terry. The hybrid idea will have to wait until the next one - or maybe I can use the idea when I build the Valiant and Vulcan, if they have any similar circumstances. I'm thinking silver for the Valiant and camo for the Vulcan. That should make a nice "little" display of V-Bombers. But of course. Wifey wants to go to Ireland next year, and I'm thinking that once we're done kissing the Blarney Stone, I'll send her home and then pop over to carouse with you guys. I'd like that to be at SMW, but that means visiting Ireland the week before in the "off-season." But we did that with Scotland the last time I was over, so who knows. Maybe it could work. You know that ditty is in an on-line poetry database. I get it, of course, but poetry? When my Vulcan arrived the other day, the Eduard wheels for the Victor were in the same package (as well as the Big Fred set for the Vulcan). They look really nice. Question about the PE for the Victor main gear - Eduard parts 5 & 6 which go on the sides of the actuator strut. These pieces are flat, albeit with very nice detail etched into them, and the Airfix parts are thicker and more "3D". Which are more accurate? Cheers, Bill

Where were we? Right, I was on some beach vacation (it rained every day) spending hard-earned modelling money on craft beer (helped me to ignore the rain ☔ ). By the way, I hate sand. Just saying. 🏖️ Back to the Victor - the engine faces are now all nice and shiny, although they are likely never to be seen again. They are pretty deep inside those intakes. Speaking of intakes, I'm happy with what I've got. Not perfect, but I don't really want to spend any more time on them. Here is where I gave up: Next up was the assembly of the main gear bays, and I decided to only use some of the Eduard "Tart 'Em Up" photoetch parts. For instance, the roof of the bay - the Eduard parts really don't add anything, and the corrugated detail is more "3D" in the styrene. I used the PE for the forward wall, and on each side of the support arch as seen here - I think the rivets will take a wash nicely: Adding the PE to each side of the arch meant that it would be too thick to slide into the notches in the sidewalls - so it was necessary to thin the arches considerably prior to adding the PE. No big deal, but it took a few minutes. One nice feature of the Eduard set are some very delicate looking hydraulic lines (I think) that are installed in each gear bay, with ends that attach to the gear struts. Maybe these are brake lines - there are a lot of them, but then there are a lot of wheels! I'm not installing these now because 1) I haven't built the main gear assemblies yet, and 2) I suspect they're quite fiddly and I would mash them up whilst building the rest of the model. Eduard would also have you remove all the detail from the inboard sidewall, and replace it with PE. Again, the result if I did that would be less "3D" than what Airfix moulded, and would not really have any additional detail of interest. Here is the Airfix inboard sidewall: And here is what Eduard would have you replace it with: Personally, I think what Airfix did will look much more interesting once it's painted and has a nice wash. Eduard do provide some nice PE bits for the interior of the gear doors but that will come at a later stage. Plus, of course, fiddly bits like antennae and small exhaust/intake screens, etc. Next up is the assembly of the exhaust tubes which need to be finished and installed prior to the wings going together. Airfix have additional spars to help strengthen and align the outer wing sections as well. We're getting there. Slowly, but we're getting there. 🐢 Cheers, Bill

Brilliant idea. Patent it quickly and set up a new business printing masking plugs on demand. First, though, you'll need to laser scan every cavity on every model that needs to be masked. Jolly good fun! Cheers, Bill

I just found this photo of the B-21 that I haven't seen before (maybe I just missed it). It seems to show more of the intake than was seen during the rollout. I don't understand what I'm seeing though - maybe they are just hiding something with FOD covers. You can also see a wee bit more of the aft end, although not enough to really make it out. This photo was published as a high-res file on the Airman Magazine website. I resampled it down to a manageable size. EDIT: I am really behind the times! This photo has been on Wiki for months... Cheers, Bill

Look what I found behind the bushes by my front step: What is it? What do I do with it? Cheers, Bill

Do Lego blocks count? If I use enough of them, I could probably make a Victor. Uh, looks like you guys already have! Not that that's a bad thing... ***** RE: Intakes - the comment was aimed at the multiple application of putty that is being used. Since I painted all the insides white prior to assembly, I've had to forego my usual red glazing putty and use Mr. Dissolved Putty (an off-white colour), applied with Mr. Mini-Spatula Blade, and sanded back with Mr. Gritty Paper wrapped around Mr. Mandrill (and yes - that spelling is correct!) I thought the bits would fit a wee bit better than they did, but still a pretty cool bit of injection moulding engineering. The bypass section is there, only it's moulded shut and at this point I don't think I can reach in behind the vane to paint it to look like it's open (thought: maybe a sliver of decal! Oh, evil mind!). Anyway, kudos to the Airfix dude who designed all this. At the end of the day, I think it'll look OK. Cheers, Bill PS. I'm not a beach person. My idea of a great vacation is to drive around Old Blighty visiting aeroplane museums with @CedB @Procopius and @Cookenbacher. And, of course, meeting the lunatics who are running my asylum.

I suppose you're all wondering why no updates recently. In one word: intakes. We're leaving Wednesday for a short holiday in Myrtle Beach, SC. Apparently we need to do this in order to use airline credit prior to expiration. There probably won't be another update until after I return. I'm already vacationed-out and we haven't done our 50th anniversary trip to Hawaii yet (that's in July). Ugh. Cheers, Bill PS. Although my holiday total is yet to approach that of @Fritag...

What was Tupolev doing at the time that the UK was designing and building the coolest bomber fleet ever? Oh yeah, copying the B-29. Besides, the only Viktor I know is the bad guy in Dr. Zhivago. I seem to recall that the other end has the same affliction. ***** 40 bags of mulch wasn't enough. Back to the Garden Factory for more. Cheers, Bill

Thanks guys. I did find a photo of XL512 with Blue Steel, carrots, but no tanks. So that's the way I'll build her. To Airfix's credit, this is the configuration they show in the decal placement guide. Cheers, Bill

Yes indeed. Other than the one bit of PE, all the detail is courtesy of Airfix. They've come a long way from the Airfix I loved back in the 60s and 70s. There was only one hobby shop in town that carried Airfix, and they were on the "Import" shelf (i.e. more expensive). To me, it meant they were exotic and of course they had some subjects that Revell, Monogram or AMT wouldn't touch. Fun times those were. Speaking of fuel tanks, am I correct in assuming that the underwing tanks are OK for my white bird? I better get my SMW tickets now - could be a sellout. Any experience or issue you encountered will be helpful. Thanks. And don't worry about fettling - it's me middle name. Remember, I build them short run kits all the time. ***** Off to find a mandrill mandrel so I can build a bespoke intake seam eradication device. 🐒 Cheers, Bill

I have a Valiant. It's sitting right next to my workstation. But you can send me the beer anyway. I think Blue Steel covers up most of it. We'll see. Cheers, Bill

Watching! Who doesn't like a green nose Mustang? Cheers, Bill PS. Actually, my Mustang is red. But then it's not an aeroplane.

Not a lot happening, unless you count 40 bags of mulch for the landscaping and flower gardens. Gawd, I hate spring. The flying surfaces for the tail were quickly assembled. I'm leaving the movable surfaces off until much later in the build so I can pose them if I choose. Were these just elevators, or did they have differential motion? Bullet fairing goes on once these bits are on the tail proper. Apparently, the Victor had massive girders inside its wings: Actually, a pretty clever way for Airfix to not only strengthen the wing assembly, but also to set the proper anhedral angle. The side panels of the main gear bays will be built up with separate pieces, allowing Airfix to mould in some nice detail. Which, of course, Eduard would have you grind away completely and replace with photoetch bits. We'll see how much of it I actually use. The engineering of the intakes is very clever, especially since the splitter plates are separate parts that drop in through slots in the intake trunk (at the bottom of the photo). The tops of the intakes are connected via the spars that you can see in the top of the photo - this corresponds to the contour of the top of the fuselage and again contributes to strengthening the wing assembly. Airfix have you attach this to the upper wing before you assemble the other parts, but it seems to me that it will be much easier to assemble the intakes and attach to the wing later. Why? It will make it easier to handle when dealing with the inevitable seams in the intake trunking. Certainly the seams near the front intake opening will need to be dealt with, but those deep towards the engine faces may not be very visible. We'll see once I have things assembled and I can test fit everything. All in all, the Airfix design looks pretty clever. Did I say that already? The nose gear assembly was also stuck together and painted Aluminum with a black Future wash. The top of the actuator is the only bit of photoetch Eduard provide for the nose gear and bay, and it is much nicer than the kit detail in that area. I think they also have some PE for the inside of the nose gear doors, but that comes later. You won't see the ejector marks or the top of the front of the bay (which the flat black hoses are attached to) once the fuselage halves are together. I haven't painted the large round bulkhead yet, as it's part of the bomb bay. Round rubbery things go on later as well. I just ordered the resin set from Armory. A quick little test fit of the nose gear bay and cockpit into the fuselage halves looks brilliant. Fit is great and there is plenty of room for weight to keep the gal on her wheels. Next up is the intake assembly and seam eradication (as might be necessary) followed by the main gear legs and bays. Eduard have a bit more etch for the main gear. Fun, fun, fun. Cheers, Bill

It's the Belgian beer I tell ya... Cheers, Bill

I chalk it up to V-Bomber fever. I just went and ordered the new tool Vulcan. I can stack it right on top of the Valiant kit, right next to my workbench. They'll stare at me for years with those pleading eyes. Build me! Build me! Working on the front gear bay for the Victor now. I like the way this has been engineered, as it provides for a lot detail on the sidewalls. There is so much detail that Eduard have only one PE bit in their set for this sub-assembly. I hope Airfix is correct that these areas are aluminium. Cheers, Bill

"Udderly?" Bovine humour I guess. Cheers, Bill PS. My wife's favourite song back then...it's what attracted me to her!

I wish you hadn't shown me that. I hate drooling into my beard. Cheers, Bill

Thanks James. I'm wondering if I can make the canopy fit well enough so that I don't have to glue it on. That way I can remove it to show off the flight deck. Probably not, but I can dream... Thanks Steve. I figured lining them up neat and orderly like in a military school wouldn't look natural. They should look like the crew just swiveled around and ran down the stairs to get to the pub before last call. Thanks Terry. Confession: I copied the idea from somebody else's build that I found floating around the web thing. Thanks Mark. It's important for morale. I mean, what would you prefer to read? A flight manual that has information which could save your life, or a girlie book? I know what I would pick. 🔞 Cheers, Bill PS. The flight manual, of course.

I've seen them too. They were on the Ed Sullivan show... Cheers, Bill PS. Your model is stunning. Not unlike The Beatles.

I'm late to the party, but a 1:72 Herk is a project that can't be missed. And all that aftermarket! Photoetch, resin, and masks...oh my! This will be a fun build to tag along on, especially as I don't have to do any work. Cheers, Bill

"Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard..." Cheers, Bill

Excellent Twosair! You've captured the weathered look very well. Cheers, Bill

Brilliant! That Swiss AF scheme has to be the best looking Vampire ever, and you've really captured it. 👍 Cheers, Bill

Very nice indeed. I think the P-40 was created with desert camo and shark mouths in mind. 👍 Cheers, Bill

Now that's what I call a Scooter! Beautiful work Steve - one to be proud of. 👍 👍 👍 Cheers, Bill